---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Put an Irishman on the spit and you can…"
description: "\"Put an Irishman on the spit and you can always get another Irishman to turn him.\" — George Bernard Shaw"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/george-bernard-shaw-68_being-irish_put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can_2782420.png"
---

#  Put an Irishman on the spit and you can always get another…

![“Put an Irishman on the spit and you can always get another Irishman to turn him.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/george-bernard-shaw-68_being-irish_put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can_2782420.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/george-bernard-shaw-68_being-irish_put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can_2782420.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/george-bernard-shaw-68_being-irish_put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can_2782420.png)

> “Put an Irishman on the spit and you can always get another Irishman to turn him.”

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A humorous saying about Irish resilience and the ability to replace one with another.

**In simple terms:** You can replace an Irishman with another.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the continuity of tradition.

Themes

humor culture resilience

Mood

lighthearted critical

Type

satire cultural

When to use this quote

- team building
- cultural events
- historical analysis
- community planning

Key Concepts

stereotype social continuity

Questions to Reflect On

- How does humor affect cultural perception?
- What are the limits of such analogies?

A Different Perspective

May reinforce cultural stereotypes.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Being irish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-irish/) [Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ireland/) [Ireland and the irish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ireland-and-the-irish/) [Irish writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irish-writers/) [Nationalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nationalism/)

## Related quotes

> [There is an Irish way of paying compliments as though they were irresistible truths which makes what would otherwise be an impertinence delightful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-tynan/there-is-an-irish-way-of-paying-compliments-as-though-they-were/)

[Katharine Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-tynan/)

> [The Irish are a fair people: They never speak well of one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-irish-are-a-fair-people-they-never-speak-well-of-one-another/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Ireland is a fruitful mother of genius, but a barren nurse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyle-o-reilly/ireland-is-a-fruitful-mother-of-genius-but-a-barren-nurse/)

[John Boyle O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyle-o-reilly/)

> [Ireland, sir, for good or evil, is like no other place under heaven, and no man can touch its sod or breathe its air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/ireland-sir-for-good-or-evil-is-like-no-other-place-under-heaven-and/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [I showed my appreciation of my native land in the usual Irish way: by getting out of it as soon as I possibly could.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-showed-my-appreciation-of-my-native-land-in-the-usual-irish-way-by/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Eternal is the fact that the human creature born in Ireland and brought up in its air is Irish. I have lived for twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/eternal-is-the-fact-that-the-human-creature-born-in-ireland-and/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [“Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-action-of-our-lives-touches-on-some-chord-that-will-vibrate-in/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When I die, I want to decompose in a barrel of porter and have it served in all the pubs in Dublin. I wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-donleavy-2/when-i-die-i-want-to-decompose-in-a-barrel-of-porter-and-have-it/)

[J. P. Donleavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-donleavy-2/)

> [An Irishman can be worried by the consciousness that there is nothing to worry about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/an-irishman-can-be-worried-by-the-consciousness-that-there-is-nothing/)

[Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/)

> [What's the use of being Irish if the world doesn't break your heart?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-the-world-doesn-t-break-your-heart/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

> [We are no petty people. We are one of the great stocks of Burke; we are the people of Swift, the people of Emmet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/we-are-no-petty-people-we-are-one-of-the-great-stocks-of-burke-we-are/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-conn/what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can-t-be-thick/)

Billy Conn

> [God invented whiskey to keep the Irish from ruling the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mcmahon/god-invented-whiskey-to-keep-the-irish-from-ruling-the-world/)

[Ed McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mcmahon/)

> [This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/this-is-one-race-of-people-for-whom-psychoanalysis-is-of-no-use/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [You know it is summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-roach/you-know-it-is-summer-in-ireland-when-the-rain-gets-warmer/)

[Hal Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-roach/)

## More by George Bernard Shaw

> [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

[Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

## More Being irish quotes

> [I was elected by the women of Ireland, who instead of rocking the cradle, rocked the system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-robinson/i-was-elected-by-the-women-of-ireland-who-instead-of-rocking-the/)

[Mary Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-robinson/)

> [You know it is summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-roach/you-know-it-is-summer-in-ireland-when-the-rain-gets-warmer/)

[Hal Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-roach/)

> [I think the genetics of being Irish are that you sort of prefer when it's rainy and cloudy. It's just genetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-flannery/i-think-the-genetics-of-being-irish-are-that-you-sort-of-prefer-when/)

[Kate Flannery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-flannery/)

> [“There's no sense to being Irish unless you know the world's going to break your heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-adcock/there-s-no-sense-to-being-irish-unless-you-know-the-world-s-going-to/)

[Thomas Adcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-adcock/)

> [Why do we like being Irish? Partly because It gives us a hold on the sentimental English As members of a world that never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/why-do-we-like-being-irish-partly-because-it-gives-us-a-hold-on-the/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/this-is-one-race-of-people-for-whom-psychoanalysis-is-of-no-use/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [I find being Irish quite a wearing thing. It takes so much work because it is a social construction. People think you are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/i-find-being-irish-quite-a-wearing-thing-it-takes-so-much-work/)

[Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/)

> [I'm Irish and very proud of being Irish, but as an actor, your extraction should be secondary, really. You should be able to embody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cillian-murphy/i-m-irish-and-very-proud-of-being-irish-but-as-an-actor-your/)

[Cillian Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cillian-murphy/)

> [St. Patrick... one of the few saints whose feast day presents the opportunity to get determinedly whacked and make a fool of oneself all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-madigan/st-patrick-one-of-the-few-saints-whose-feast-day-presents-the/)

Charles Madigan

> [Ireland is a fruitful mother of genius, but a barren nurse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyle-o-reilly/ireland-is-a-fruitful-mother-of-genius-but-a-barren-nurse/)

[John Boyle O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyle-o-reilly/)

> [In heaven there is no beer. That's why we drink ours here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yankovic/in-heaven-there-is-no-beer-that-s-why-we-drink-ours-here/)

Frank Yankovic

> [Sheep are not considered the most intelligent animals but British scientist say humans may have underestimated the woolly creatures. In fact, the British scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/sheep-are-not-considered-the-most-intelligent-animals-but-british/)

[Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/)

> [When I die, I want to decompose in a barrel of porter and have it served in all the pubs in Dublin. I wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-donleavy-2/when-i-die-i-want-to-decompose-in-a-barrel-of-porter-and-have-it/)

[J. P. Donleavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-donleavy-2/)

> [God invented whiskey to keep the Irish from ruling the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mcmahon/god-invented-whiskey-to-keep-the-irish-from-ruling-the-world/)

[Ed McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mcmahon/)

> [What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-conn/what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can-t-be-thick/)

Billy Conn

[Browse all 39 Being irish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-irish/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Put an Irishman on the spit and you can always get another Irishman to turn him.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Bernard Shaw"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can-always-get-another-irishman/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Being irish"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can-always-get-another-irishman/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/george-bernard-shaw-68_being-irish_put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can_2782420.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/george-bernard-shaw-68_being-irish_put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can_2782420.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/george-bernard-shaw-68_being-irish_put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can_2782420.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Put an Irishman on the spit and you can always get another Irishman to turn him.” — George Bernard Shaw",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "George Bernard Shaw",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Put an Irishman on the spit...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can-always-get-another-irishman/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/put-an-irishman-on-the-spit-and-you-can-always-get-another-irishman/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
